"In July, Microsoft's sweeping layoffs hit Xbox hard, and shuttered the entire game studio that was building Perfect Dark. Officially, the game was canceled. But unofficially, reports Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Microsoft gave Perfect Dark's other set of developers - Tomb Raider studio Crystal Dynamics - a chance to revive the game. Here's where it gets potentially confusing: Microsoft doesn't own Crystal Dynamics - that studio belongs to the Embracer Group, which has had many troubles of its own."
"So Embracer was trying to cut a deal with yet another publisher, the giant Take-Two, to buy, fund, and publish the game. But, Schreier reports: the talks collapsed at least in part because the companies involved were unable to come to terms over long-term ownership of the Perfect Dark franchise, said the people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about sensitive negotiations."
"Seems Microsoft didn't want to give up the rights to Perfect Dark, which it presumably obtained when it bought Rare in 2002. (For the uninitiated, Perfect Dark was a spiritual successor to Rare's hit Goldeneye 007 on the Nintendo 64, a game that itself went many decades without a revival because of a complicated licensing situation.) That feels like a crummy reason for the game to stay canceled, but we don't know the details."
Microsoft's July layoffs closed the studio building Perfect Dark and officially canceled the game. Microsoft later allowed Crystal Dynamics a chance to revive the project, but Crystal Dynamics is owned by the Embracer Group. Embracer sought a deal with Take-Two to buy, fund, and publish the game, but negotiations broke down largely over long-term ownership of the Perfect Dark franchise. The failed deal contributed to additional layoffs at Crystal Dynamics, and Crystal Dynamics has now fully abandoned the project. Microsoft retained franchise rights, which it likely acquired when purchasing Rare in 2002.
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